The past ten years have been hard on the magazine publishing industry, with 2008 a particularly bad year. No one’s quite sure how web-based publishing will affect print in the end, but there have already been many casualties. Last month one of my favorite trade publications, Microlithography World, bit the paper-shredding dust. MLW was the brain-child of Sid Marshall, the editor of Solid State Technology (a magazine founded by his father, Sam Marshall) until that magazine’s purchase by PennWell. First published in January, 1992, MLW was thin and ran quarterly, but it filled a void in the publishing world, which previously didn’t offer a dedicated space for lithography publications.

As the magazine was launched, Sid contacted me about publishing a paper in this new quarterly. Instead, I proposed a more radical idea: I would write a short tutorial paper for every edition of the magazine. Sid agreed, and in January, 1993 the first “Lithography Tutor” article appeared. Here is the introduction I wrote for that first article:

“Welcome to The Lithography Tutor, a new regular feature of Microlithography World. As the name implies, the purpose of this column is to present lithography information in a tutorial format. Each issue of Microlithography World will carry a two to three page edition of this continuing series on the basic principles of optical lithography. To give you a brief outline of what is to come in the next several issues, we’ll begin by studying optics. How is an image formed by a projection optical system (stepper or scanner)? What is the influence of wavelength, numerical aperture, coherence, illumination? Then, we will examine how this image propagates through the photoresist (including absorption and standing waves) and exposes the resist. Finally, the properties of development will be discussed. From here, we can begin discussing lithography as a system, define what is meant by lithographic quality, and look for ways to optimize our lithography system to maximize its quality. All this in two to three pages per issue! I’m not sure how long it will take to get through all of these topics, but I’ll certainly have fun writing this column. I hope you will enjoy reading it.”

And I did have fun writing my column. I looked forward to it each quarter, since it forced me to figure out not just how to present information, but how to explain it. It was also a great pleasure working with the editor who took over for Sid, Marc Levenson (a.k.a. “M. David”).

In the spring of 1996 the column was renamed The Lithography Expert – it seems the publisher liked the idea of having an expert write its articles rather than a mere tutor (I guess that means I was promoted, though my pay remained the same: nothing). When the last MLW came out in November 2008, I had written a total of 63 Tutor/Expert articles – quite a run! Much of the information and explanations found in those articles made it into my textbook, Fundamental Principles of Optical Lithography, so that even as MLW disappears, the spirit of the Lithography Tutor/Expert lives on. Still, I’ll miss the deadline pressure to find another interesting lithography topic amenable to a good 2-page explanation. Maybe I’ll have to write another book to fill that need in me to explain.

At the beginning of this year, IEEE Spectrum asked me to write an article about double patterning for the general electrical engineering audience. Sounding like fun, I agreed. The editor then warned me to think about the process as a “collaborative” writing experience with the editors of the magazine. That has certainly proven to be true, since the final article bears little resemblance to the first draft I submitted in May. Still, the result, I think, serves the basic purpose of explaining to a general technical reader what is going on in advanced lithography and why.

The article is entitled “Seeing Double” and appeared in the November issue of IEEE Spectrum.

Grant Willson, friend and fellow professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has won just about every award that the chemistry profession has to offer. And since his work straddles the fence between science and engineering, he’s won just about every award that the chemical engineering profession has to offer as well. Add to that his accolades while at IBM and the respect of the lithography community (winning the Frits Zernike award, its highest honor), and it would be fair to say that his accomplishments have received some well-deserved recognition.

Last month, though, Grant’s recognition rose to a new level. He was one of eight recipients of the 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation, our nation’s highest honor for technological achievement. In October he was presented his award by President Bush in a White House ceremony.

His wife Debbie sneaked a video recording of the presentation on her digital camera. Grant shakes the President’s hand and then tells him a joke, getting him to laugh. Then after the reading of the citation [“for creating lithographic imaging materials and techniques that have enabled the manufacture of smaller, faster and more efficient micro-electronic components”] he and Bush both pose doing the “hook ‘em horns” hand gesture. Awesome.

Congratulations, Grant.

Early this year, SPIE (the optical engineering professional society) asked me to write an article for their magazine devoted to careers in optics, SPIE Professional. They wanted to hear any advise I might have for people in, or thinking about entering, the field of semiconductor lithography.

I thought for a moment and then asked, “Are you sure you really want my honest opinion?” They assured me that they did, and so I wrote a short article giving my unfiltered opinion as to whether a career in lithography was a good idea. When I submitted it, I asked again, “Are you sure you want to publish this?” To their credit, SPIE wanted only my true views, with no spin or sugar coating. The article has just come out. SPIE members can access it at http://spie.org/x4274.xml (the article is called Fab Future). The print version should be in the mail soon, if it hasn’t been sent already.

Here is the tag line for the article:

The “Litho Guru” takes a dim view of lithography remaining a top dog in semiconductor manufacturing and in fueling Moore’s Law. Growth and fun are slowing.

It’s not really an upbeat assessment of the potential for a career in lithography, or the semiconductor industry in general. But then, for those of us working in that field, this is not news.

A friend and fellow lithographer, Garry Bordonaro, sent me a quote he had heard describing lithography:

“Photolithography is a mysterious mix of time-honored ingredients, chaotic chemistry, humble patience, and blind faith.”

I love it! Though I think there is more than a bit of science that gets thrown in as well, this description matches much of my experience over the last 25 years. Garry also thought that the quote was stolen from a beer label (how fitting!), so I did a little research. Sure enough, the essence of this quote can be found on some beers produced by the Magic Hat Brewing Company (www.magichat.net) of South Burlington, VT:

“The ancient ritual of brewing a distinctly rich and flavorful beer is nothing short of magic. Our mysterious mix of time-honored ingredients, chaotic chemistry, humble patience, and blind faith age into the secret brew we share in the rousing company of good spirits.”

Since I have shared both beer and lithography in the rousing company of good spirits, I find that I just can’t escape the beer-lithography connection.